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Why You Are Australian: A Letter to My Children
A love letter to Australia, from a London exile
When expatriate novelist Nikki Gemmell had her children in London, she chose to give them Aussie citizenship over British. this Is Why. Why you are Australian is an examination of our country thirty years ago and today: all the glory of its sun and water - and all the darkness of tall poppies and Cronulla. How does our land look from way over there, and from right up close? A treatise about what it means to be Australian right now. Honest, moving, provocative, uplifting - an exile's story, a mother's story, an Australian's story. Why you are Australian for anyone who needs reminding. 'Achingly I want you to know what it is to be Aussie kids. Where playing barefoot is a signifier of freedom not impoverishment. Where a backyard's a given not a luxury. Where sunshine and fresh food grow children tall. Where you know what a rash shirt is and a nipper, a Paddle Pop and a Boogie Board.'
When expatriate novelist Nikki Gemmell had her children in London, she chose to give them Aussie citizenship over British. this Is Why. Why you are Australian is an examination of our country thirty years ago and today: all the glory of its sun and water - and all the darkness of tall poppies and Cronulla. How does our land look from way over there, and from right up close? A treatise about what it means to be Australian right now. Honest, moving, provocative, uplifting - an exile's story, a mother's story, an Australian's story. Why you are Australian for anyone who needs reminding. 'Achingly I want you to know what it is to be Aussie kids. Where playing barefoot is a signifier of freedom not impoverishment. Where a backyard's a given not a luxury. Where sunshine and fresh food grow children tall. Where you know what a rash shirt is and a nipper, a Paddle Pop and a Boogie Board.'
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Gemmell
35 books307 followersNikki Gemmell has written four novels, Shiver, Cleave, Lovesong, The Bride Stripped Bare and The Book Of Rapture, and one non-fiction book, Pleasure: An Almanac for the Heart. Her work has been internationally critically acclaimed and translated into many languages.
In France she's been described as a female Jack Kerouac, in Australia as one of the most original and engaging authors of her generation and in the US as one of the few truly original voices to emerge in a long time.
The French literary review "Lire" has included her in a list of what it calls the fifty most important writers in the world - the ones it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. The criteria for selection included a very individual voice and unmistakeable style, as well as an original choice of subject. Nikki Gemmell was selected along with such novelists as Rick Moody, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Froer, Rohinton Mistry, Tim Winton, Colum McCann, Michel Faber and Hari Kunzru among others.
Born in Wollongong, Australia, she now lives in London.
In France she's been described as a female Jack Kerouac, in Australia as one of the most original and engaging authors of her generation and in the US as one of the few truly original voices to emerge in a long time.
The French literary review "Lire" has included her in a list of what it calls the fifty most important writers in the world - the ones it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. The criteria for selection included a very individual voice and unmistakeable style, as well as an original choice of subject. Nikki Gemmell was selected along with such novelists as Rick Moody, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Froer, Rohinton Mistry, Tim Winton, Colum McCann, Michel Faber and Hari Kunzru among others.
Born in Wollongong, Australia, she now lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 11, 2020
Nikki Gemmell's fiction has been hit and miss for me - Shiver is an all-time favourite, while the rest have been less inspiring. But this memoir is something special. It's about a short period in her life (summer of 2009 to be precise) when she brought her 3 English-born children back to Australia to have a bit of a trial-run at returning permanently; to see whether it was going to be possible in contemporary Australia, to provide the children with the kind of idyllic childhood that she remembered.
Stylistically, this is part-letter, part-journal, with very short chapters including some that read like thought bubbles. Lots of reminiscing; very nostalgic. Take for example chapter 44, in which she lists literally hundreds of things about her own childhood that she holds dear, such as:
Playing on building sites. Dogs never on leads... Pretending to smoke fag lollies... Milo sandwiches, chip sandwiches, tomato-sauce sandwiches... Chasing the Mr Whippy van down the street as it played Greensleeves...Elastics. Skipping. Drawing all over the driveway with chalk... A cool shower to take the sting out of sunburn. Peeling the flakes of skin off your shoulders... The ABC Sing! book. Going to the tip with Dad...Clag glue. Project books. Compass sets...Dunlop Volleys and Bata Scouts with compasses in the heels. And on it goes, with so much of it resonating for me.
But it's not all sweetness and light. She covers the tall poppy syndrome, and puts the ugliness of Australian racism/patriotism/nationalism (however you want to name it) right in your face when describing scenes from an Australia Day in Sydney.
And then there's the natural disasters which led to a long rumination on mateship, and what it means to be Australian. Setting the scene for Black Saturday:
The bush was tinder dry, and it was in difficult-to-access locations. Humans didn't stand a chance as the mighty, untameable continent roared once again. I was with my kids in our cottage at the time; we watched, speechless with horror, as the extent of the destruction dawned on the nation...And as these fires were consuming everything in their path in the nation's south, in the north floods were ruining homes on the tropical Queensland coast...In the thick of despair, so many stories of resilience and ingenuity and courage and hope, and once again, they're quintessentially Australian stories...Black Saturday showed Australia at it's worst, and best, and for all the horror I'm glad you boys were living here to experience what it is to be Australian in the shocked aftermath.
And on mateship: Mateship is a code of behaviour that is caring and easy and effortless and selfless and I love Australia for it...Perhaps it developed because this land is so bloody tough; if we can't bond, and help each other out, and find something to laugh about while we're at it, well, we're buggered.
This was a quick, 4.5★ read for me.
Stylistically, this is part-letter, part-journal, with very short chapters including some that read like thought bubbles. Lots of reminiscing; very nostalgic. Take for example chapter 44, in which she lists literally hundreds of things about her own childhood that she holds dear, such as:
Playing on building sites. Dogs never on leads... Pretending to smoke fag lollies... Milo sandwiches, chip sandwiches, tomato-sauce sandwiches... Chasing the Mr Whippy van down the street as it played Greensleeves...Elastics. Skipping. Drawing all over the driveway with chalk... A cool shower to take the sting out of sunburn. Peeling the flakes of skin off your shoulders... The ABC Sing! book. Going to the tip with Dad...Clag glue. Project books. Compass sets...Dunlop Volleys and Bata Scouts with compasses in the heels. And on it goes, with so much of it resonating for me.
But it's not all sweetness and light. She covers the tall poppy syndrome, and puts the ugliness of Australian racism/patriotism/nationalism (however you want to name it) right in your face when describing scenes from an Australia Day in Sydney.
And then there's the natural disasters which led to a long rumination on mateship, and what it means to be Australian. Setting the scene for Black Saturday:
The bush was tinder dry, and it was in difficult-to-access locations. Humans didn't stand a chance as the mighty, untameable continent roared once again. I was with my kids in our cottage at the time; we watched, speechless with horror, as the extent of the destruction dawned on the nation...And as these fires were consuming everything in their path in the nation's south, in the north floods were ruining homes on the tropical Queensland coast...In the thick of despair, so many stories of resilience and ingenuity and courage and hope, and once again, they're quintessentially Australian stories...Black Saturday showed Australia at it's worst, and best, and for all the horror I'm glad you boys were living here to experience what it is to be Australian in the shocked aftermath.
And on mateship: Mateship is a code of behaviour that is caring and easy and effortless and selfless and I love Australia for it...Perhaps it developed because this land is so bloody tough; if we can't bond, and help each other out, and find something to laugh about while we're at it, well, we're buggered.
This was a quick, 4.5★ read for me.
December 26, 2014
Gemmell is one of my all time favourite writers. She is also one of the few people I truly admire. She writes with such honesty and emotion and as silly as it sounds I feel like she writes for me. This book is beautiful. If my British born and raised husband ever questions why we chose to settle and have our children in Australia, I will simply hand him this book.
July 3, 2013
Why You Are Australian A Letter to My Children is the quintessential expat book: an Australian woman, novelist by trade and mother of three by choice, chronicles her return to Sydney, Australia from London, UK. She also brushes over the reverse leg. Overall, this is a lovely book that covers much more than Australianness and British rain, but is at times too corny or too bitter. (Such can the life of an expat be. I know.)
***Spoilers ahead***
I liked very much the first half of this book (the first 3-3.5 parts). The delighted yet frightened mother rediscovers the land of her youth and, with it, a contagious joy. She loves everything about her native country and explores every corner she might find positive. There are little cracks, for example the feeling of provincialism, but everything is forgotten with an extended family around. The writing is alert, short-sentenced, cheerful. Lovely.
The second half of the book goes logically back and forth between Australia and London, Britain. Perhaps triggered by missing her man, Nikki paints a mostly bleak image of London (with the occasional positive comment on history, theater, and libraries) and, by extension, entire Britain. At forty-plus, she does not feel at home in London, never will, never should. She wants to return and wants to convince her partner to return with her. The writing turns crisp (even sterile?), the bitterness is tangible. The statements are also more undecided and overall contradicting. Stereotypes abound. Not so lovely, after all.
I would recommend this book to any expat who has never read an expat book before---it's a gentle introduction with the right mix of delight and confusion. For better documentation on the Australian expat in Britain, I would recommend instead Australians in Britain The Twentieth-Century Experience (especially Chapter 13 about expats in London in the early 1960s and Chapter 14 about invisible migration and returns; also, the references within).
***Spoilers ahead***
I liked very much the first half of this book (the first 3-3.5 parts). The delighted yet frightened mother rediscovers the land of her youth and, with it, a contagious joy. She loves everything about her native country and explores every corner she might find positive. There are little cracks, for example the feeling of provincialism, but everything is forgotten with an extended family around. The writing is alert, short-sentenced, cheerful. Lovely.
The second half of the book goes logically back and forth between Australia and London, Britain. Perhaps triggered by missing her man, Nikki paints a mostly bleak image of London (with the occasional positive comment on history, theater, and libraries) and, by extension, entire Britain. At forty-plus, she does not feel at home in London, never will, never should. She wants to return and wants to convince her partner to return with her. The writing turns crisp (even sterile?), the bitterness is tangible. The statements are also more undecided and overall contradicting. Stereotypes abound. Not so lovely, after all.
I would recommend this book to any expat who has never read an expat book before---it's a gentle introduction with the right mix of delight and confusion. For better documentation on the Australian expat in Britain, I would recommend instead Australians in Britain The Twentieth-Century Experience (especially Chapter 13 about expats in London in the early 1960s and Chapter 14 about invisible migration and returns; also, the references within).
November 30, 2009
As an Aussie expat, i tend to enjoy the company of fellow self-exiled types. I was disappointed to discover that Gemmell's book is more therapy than reflection. There are moments within its pages that I yearned to return to the sunny shores of my homeland; but Gemmell was unable to capture for long these deep currents that shape and form the nature and character of 'home'. Instead, we hear her wax on about barefeet children and motherhood as if these signifers are able to contain the meaning of national identity. Her vision ends at the tips of her fingers; there is little there there when it comes to exploring the contours of a country beyond sentimentality. Gemmell's work in these pages certainly paid for her three month sojourn, but it speaks little to those of us who know the tug of home and recognize that a bit of sun and a day at the tuckshop is not the same thing as drinking deeply from the well where flows Australian life in all its fullness.
February 9, 2018
Nikki Gemmell is an Australian writer and commentator. For many years, she and her husband and their three children lived the expat life overseas, in the United Kingdom. In this memoir, entitled Why You are Australian: A Letter to My Children (4th Estate Books HarperCollins Books Australia 2017), Gemmell does indeed write a love letter, to both her children and to her home country of Australia. In it, she explains why she chose to give her children Aussie citizenship over British (so they could be future politicians, perhaps? Oh wait, no, that wasn’t mentioned…), why she decided to bring them back to Australia for an extended three-month holiday (to immerse them in all that culture they’d been missing), and why her family then decided to return to Australia permanently. (This edition includes an extra chapter on the 2009 edition, written after they move back.) The book is peppered with notes taken from her journals and diaries, and observations she has made over time. In the midst of bustling and busy English life, she fears her children are missing out on the advantages of an Aussie childhood that she had growing up; she fears that to remain overseas will mean they will probably never ‘come home’.
The delight of this book is the language, idiosyncrasies, the memories and even the stereotypes that she describes, and the quintessential Aussie lifestyle that she depicts, with which we are probably all familiar. She has a way with words, a comforting and easy style that sort of feels like we’re chatting to a friend. And while some of her observations may be through glasses a little rose-tinted, it is, after all, a ‘love letter’, and so it is packed with fondness and yearning. Despite this, she does occasionally veer into areas of criticism about Australian colonialism and parochialism, but not often.
Some readers will love this short book because of Gemmell’s rich and inviting depictions of our landscape and our environment – the light, the colours, the sounds, the people – which remind us of the best of our country. Others will respond to the intimate and frank depiction of motherhood, marriage and identity, and the dreams we hold for our children.
The delight of this book is the language, idiosyncrasies, the memories and even the stereotypes that she describes, and the quintessential Aussie lifestyle that she depicts, with which we are probably all familiar. She has a way with words, a comforting and easy style that sort of feels like we’re chatting to a friend. And while some of her observations may be through glasses a little rose-tinted, it is, after all, a ‘love letter’, and so it is packed with fondness and yearning. Despite this, she does occasionally veer into areas of criticism about Australian colonialism and parochialism, but not often.
Some readers will love this short book because of Gemmell’s rich and inviting depictions of our landscape and our environment – the light, the colours, the sounds, the people – which remind us of the best of our country. Others will respond to the intimate and frank depiction of motherhood, marriage and identity, and the dreams we hold for our children.
October 30, 2017
I may have really liked this memoir because it is set in the part of Australia that I’m living in. And she is spending a few months getting away from her life in London and re-finding herself in her homeland. So she’s reflecting on the differences between home and London. I’m having a year away from home myself—and I’ve also lived in London so much of what she was commenting on rang true to me. Much had to do with parenting which isn’t my thing, but I get the appeal of family that she’s referencing. Lovely writing and made me want to read on of her novels.
January 23, 2018
Absolutely loved this little gem of a book & only wish I'd found it sooner. Nikki Gemmell absolutely captures the iconic Aussie childhood in a way that many who grew up here can relate to & many will want to discover. As an Aussie who lived as an expat for over 10 years, many of those in London, I too was torn between the lure of a more exciting international city closer to the action & the option to return to the land of my youth. For me too, returning was the right choice. Thank you Nikki, for reminding me of the wonderful aspects of life here that can be taken for granted. A great read in the lead up to Australia Day!
July 14, 2013
"A writing life of short chapters and snatched thoughts, of three line paragraphs and fragments scribbled on shopping dockets and bills....." sums up the way 'Why you are Australian' was written and goes some way to explaining why the book is both inspiring and frustrating. Written during Nikki Gemmel's trip to Australia with her three children (and addressed to them), each chapter is a short reflection comparing the Australia she was seeing with her children with the Australia of her upbringing and the England where she'd been living more recently.
There are many evocative descriptions that resonated with me and, I suspect, with many of us who grew up in Australia. I highlighted the descriptions of the summer sky, as 'hard Antipodean light', or at night 'a vast canopy, the enormous depth of it, properly dark' as examples of a shared perspective of the bigness of the Australian sky. Then there's the smell of 'freshly mown grass' which instantly produces memories of warm weather, my father in a lather of sweat cracking a can of beer to rest up in front of the cricket.....I think there was something about climbing jacaranda trees in there too (though it may have been in her newspaper column).
I also enjoyed the Christmas reflections, particularly the mention of little known Australian carols and the desire, following the arrival of children, to find a place of grace that is not intruded upon by the rush of life. However, there was much that was just her stuff - her husband, her kids, her family - which didn't have much interest to me. I suppose others, mothers especially perhaps, might find more in this than I did? There were also times when the assumption that an Australian viewpoint is so different to an English one seems stretched. Do the British not also have a view of their land and culture that is equally as passionate and as worthy of it, as we do?
The short snippets keep this moving along, so the the boring bits aren't laborious, making it an enjoyable read for Australians, new and old.
March 9, 2020
An interesting read to see Australia through another’s eyes. I did find it REALLY frustrating that a lot of comparisons seem to be drawn from London city and compared to outback/country Australia. Also, I found a lot of things stated that ‘...wouldn’t happy in Australia’ I have found do happen since being here. I feel it was written through rose tinted glasses of somebody who was homesick and on a whirlwind holiday back visiting. Each to their own though I guess!
March 29, 2010
Not enamoured by Nikki Gemmell's novels, 'Why You Are Australian' being a letter to her own children offered to be a different beast entirely and proved to be a reasonably engaging read.We could liken it to an Ashes test played out to the very last over on the fifth day before a winner was evident. Would the winner be cultural, cosmopolitan London and stiff upper lip Brits or the laconic easy going Aussies around the precints of Lake Macquarie? We in Oz would say no contest, but Gemmell is an ex-pat of long standing!She honestly compared both countries, warts and all, and it was almost, but not quite, a drawn match. Given my background her comparison of the relative ethos of the two education systems - Pommy private and our public made for interesting reading. Her chapters on the Victorian bushfires were quite emotive as well. The worlds of kids and parenting has changed markedly over recent decades and is reflected on in the book, but how can you beat and Aussie summer??????????
January 2, 2012
This is a very interesting meditation of the expat's life and how difficult it is to be torn between two countries. From my early teens I wanted to go overseas and visit the UK and Europe. Well at 19 I took off but unlike Gemmell I found a husband and baby instead of a career. I quickly decided that I didn't want to live in the UK and in 1977 the three of us headed back to Australia.
I found this book fascinating on two fronts. Firstly what she loves about London and then what she loves about Australia. Reading the second half of the book actually made me appreciate my home country more. I am thankful too, not to have got caught up in the expat life. It must be agonising having divided loyalties. I hope she is settled now in her new life and I am looking forward to hearing her speak at The Lockup in Newcastle later this month.
I found this book fascinating on two fronts. Firstly what she loves about London and then what she loves about Australia. Reading the second half of the book actually made me appreciate my home country more. I am thankful too, not to have got caught up in the expat life. It must be agonising having divided loyalties. I hope she is settled now in her new life and I am looking forward to hearing her speak at The Lockup in Newcastle later this month.
August 19, 2011
My mum sent me this while I was living in Canada. She included a note that said "I didn't read it, but I hope it reminds you that you're Australian."
I really enjoyed some parts of this book - the little comments made about NutriGrain cereal, summers spent by the beach and certain Australian slang. Those parts made me miss my country.
But the majority of the book. Hmmm... I just don't enjoy Gemmell's writing style. It feels like she's trying too hard to be meaningful and artsy. Or something...
I pick it up every now and then and read a few lines, usually when I'm missing Australia.
I really enjoyed some parts of this book - the little comments made about NutriGrain cereal, summers spent by the beach and certain Australian slang. Those parts made me miss my country.
But the majority of the book. Hmmm... I just don't enjoy Gemmell's writing style. It feels like she's trying too hard to be meaningful and artsy. Or something...
I pick it up every now and then and read a few lines, usually when I'm missing Australia.
January 26, 2010
Though at times repetitive and slightly prone to belabouring the point, Nikki Gemmel writes an engaging and tender ode to Australia. As both a child of an expatriate and a person who does not live in the place where she grew up, I related on many levels to this book. A nice ponderous read.
December 21, 2014
An easy read for anyone feeling nostalgic about the stereotypical Australian childhood. More a collection of notes so not overly challenging but pleasant enough.
August 6, 2015
A well-written reminder of why I love the sunburned country. An intentionally timed read!
May 22, 2020
I do enjoy this authors writing style and have liked her previous works. This one however didn't quite hit the mark for me. It felt like it couldn't decide if it was a love letter to Australia or a scathing criticism. My home city may seem 'provincial' when returning from the glories of expat life in London, but i'm not sure i appreciate the descriptor. It is not a city that has 'given up'. There were also elements that didn't ring true such as stating that in Australia "backyards are a given, not a luxury". Absolutely not true, especially if you reside in any of our major cities. It seemed as though she was nostalgic for the moments from her youth but was vexed that what she saw no longer resembled it. How dare a place not be exactly the same after a decade or two. There was also a lot of criticism of the people and the change in culture, but perhaps some of that change is due to the fact that we have so many expats living here too (i'm sure Londoners feel the same about parts of their city that have become expat central). It was well written, as expected, but i did not enjoy the push pull of it. I love Australia, no i hate it, it's great, oh but it's not. We are too small and provincial to remain appealing now that the wider world has proved how much better it is. I did find myself thinking fondly of some childhood memories involving some of the elements of the story. I would have liked it more if it seemed less critical.
August 10, 2025
3.5
Gemmell's take on an Australian childhood is unashamedly biased, but addictive nonetheless. Her writing is gleeful, and although sometimes elements of intolerance creep into it (her self- confessed suspicion of Muslims was something I didn't expect to read) it is overall an inspiring, enlightening read.
That is, when it isn't pigeonholing the whole nation of England. Those were the chapters in the book that confused me the most. Gemmell attempts to define what 'britishness' is based on her narrow, insular Notting Hill existence. Some statements were ridiculously broad and almost offensive: All British beef has mad cow disease. All British state schools are ineffectual and inferior to private schools. As someone who attended a British state school, (in London as well!) I can say that is categorically not true!
Anyway, besides that, Gemmell has some lovely musings on the expat (read: immigrant) experience. Her way of phrasing things is beautiful, and I'm definitely saving some quotes from this read.
Gemmell's take on an Australian childhood is unashamedly biased, but addictive nonetheless. Her writing is gleeful, and although sometimes elements of intolerance creep into it (her self- confessed suspicion of Muslims was something I didn't expect to read) it is overall an inspiring, enlightening read.
That is, when it isn't pigeonholing the whole nation of England. Those were the chapters in the book that confused me the most. Gemmell attempts to define what 'britishness' is based on her narrow, insular Notting Hill existence. Some statements were ridiculously broad and almost offensive: All British beef has mad cow disease. All British state schools are ineffectual and inferior to private schools. As someone who attended a British state school, (in London as well!) I can say that is categorically not true!
Anyway, besides that, Gemmell has some lovely musings on the expat (read: immigrant) experience. Her way of phrasing things is beautiful, and I'm definitely saving some quotes from this read.
September 9, 2019
Having recently moved back to a NSW beach town after living and raising my kids in the US I had to read this book. While I found it relatable in parts, its glorification of Australia's laid back, sun drenched reputation was a bit too surface. I found it scarily dismissive of the realities that many people living in Australia experience. It was all just a bit too predictable but that is to be expected when the book comes from the perspective of longing and loss that comes from an Aussie visiting, not living in Australia. The honeymoon never ends.
October 18, 2019
This book is lovely. Really inspired me to make the most out of this Aussie life I have. To be open and love people, share, engage, talk to strangers, enjoy the simple moments and value family and friends. 🙂
September 25, 2024
Loved this memoir. Nikki wrote such beautiful descriptions of Australia and her childhood, I ached to share her nostalgia. I felt very connected to her narrative and themes of womanhood, travel, creativity, and living abroad.
February 5, 2018
3 1/2 stars
Review forthcoming.
Review forthcoming.
February 5, 2019
Interesting read for someone who moved from London to Australia.
I could relate to her story despite not having any children yet.
Check it out!
I could relate to her story despite not having any children yet.
Check it out!
February 12, 2020
Loved every moment. Expats everywhere should read this.
Love for family, self, home, country, children all wrapped in this little gem.
Love for family, self, home, country, children all wrapped in this little gem.
April 24, 2020
I’m really not sure how I felt about this one. Gemmell writes gorgeous descriptive prose but something about this book didn’t ring true for me.
October 19, 2021
Lovely tale of an ex-pat’s return to Australia. I think this would be a really good book for non-Australians to read. Many childhood memories in this.
November 12, 2023
A pleasant read for an Aussie who has lived in London and struggled with the choice to stay or leave.
A little repetitive at times, but well punctuated by literary quotes.
A little repetitive at times, but well punctuated by literary quotes.
January 4, 2019
Absolutely loved this book and I often lend it out. Beautifully written and walks right to edge of sentimentalism and decides not to step over.
Wonderful descriptive prose
Wonderful descriptive prose
February 21, 2015
As of right now I am on prac and staying with an incredible woman who taught me when I was in primary school. Yesterday afternoon we were sitting on the porch chatting and she fluttered off to get this book to show me. Read it she insisted. She didn't have to try very hard. I was hooked from page one with nostalgia. The author lives in England with her husband and three children but is Australian and wanted her children to know the life of an Aussie childhood. For three months she returned to her hometown in Lake Macquarie and fell right back into the care-free Australian way of life. Throughout the book (which is set out as a letter to her children) she describes all of the beautiful and irreplaceable joys of growing up in Australia (fairy bread, milo, bare feet, shaking your boots out, etc). I was in my prime! Then I got to page 149 and discovered she was thanking the incredible principal of her childrens' school who the kids call Ms Cressy. My Ms Cressy, who taught and inspired me when I was ten, and who teaches and inspires me still to this day. My tiny hometown is even mentioned. It was all so much. I ended up finishing about two hours after I started. So yeah.
I am obviously super happy and if you want to experience what an Australian childhood is like, read this book because Gemmell couldn't have explained it better!
I am obviously super happy and if you want to experience what an Australian childhood is like, read this book because Gemmell couldn't have explained it better!
June 19, 2011
I read this book on the plane back to australia after i had been gone for over a year.
I don't think i could have picked a better book to read. This book is written with such an honest and real voice and you can really feel the connection Gemmell has with her home land. I found myself smiling at all the small things that make a person an 'aussie'. Our slang and laid back nature, the out doors and the bush; all were described so accurately i found myself wishing the plane would hurry up so i could experience it all again!
A great read for all the aussies all over the world, especially those with kids or those who have aussie parents.
I don't think i could have picked a better book to read. This book is written with such an honest and real voice and you can really feel the connection Gemmell has with her home land. I found myself smiling at all the small things that make a person an 'aussie'. Our slang and laid back nature, the out doors and the bush; all were described so accurately i found myself wishing the plane would hurry up so i could experience it all again!
A great read for all the aussies all over the world, especially those with kids or those who have aussie parents.
July 9, 2013
I really enjoyed this journal styled writing of Nikki Gemmel's. it made me reflect on all the wonderful things that I take for granted a lot of the time living in Australia. I loved the pages from her notebooks listing some of her day to day occurrences while she was out and about coming into contact with other Australian's. Her pages listing some of our Aussie dialect had me giggling to myself. I highly recommend this book, great read. X
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews